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Seven-year-old among four dead as tornado devastates US deep south

Four people, including a seven-year-old boy, have been killed as tornadoes hammer the US Deep South, tearing buildings apart and injuring at least 40 people.

The fast-moving storms wreaked havoc in Clarkesville, Mississippi, moving northeast towards the Ohio Valley, causing major damage in Sardis and Holly Springs, where the child was killed.

The Marshall County coroner, James Anderson, confirmed to CNN that the boy's death was related to the storm, but could not offer any more details.

Meanwhile in Benton County two people perished in their homes; authorities say at least 40 people across six Mississippi counties have been hurt, with at least one confirmed to be in a critical condition.

The Holly Springs tornado is described as being particularly large and ferocious – in addition to the boy's death, at least 12 others were injured when it struck.

A tree also blew over onto a house in Arkansas, killing an 18-year-old woman and trapping a one-year-old child inside. Rescuers pulled the child to safety.

The total number of homes and businesses destroyed is as yet unknown, but images posted to social media in the storm's wake suggest that the damage will be extensive and devastating, with authorities warning that there could be more to come.

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"An outbreak of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes is forecast today into tonight from the Ohio Valley into the Tennessee and lower Mississippi Valleys," an announcement from the National Weather Service reads.

"The greatest risk for a few intense, long-tracked tornadoes will exist over western Tennessee into northern Mississippi and eastern Arkansas this afternoon into tonight."